Sessions

Political Documentary in a Post-Truth World

At a time when fake news is said to have helped swing an election result, finding varied and reliable sources of information has never been more important. But with traditional broadcast platforms under siege from a slew of digital competitors expanding at a rate of knots, how do we ensure the integrity of storytelling in our post truth world?

With social media posts and audience comment providing a constant feedback loop for the creation of their short form content, organisations like Buzzfeed can quickly rack up global audience numbers that most broadcasters and long form filmmakers can only dream about – think the Standing Rock Protest in the US - and they can also get their material out there far faster than long form filmmakers ever could. The traditionalists might argue that the short form model doesn’t provide for the context and rigorous examination that their subjects require. But are they doing themselves a disservice by ignoring what’s going on in the digital space and missing an opportunity to add vital weapons to their storytelling arsenal?

In this session, Nicola Harvey (Managing Editor, Buzzfeed Australia) joins award-winning director Anna Broinowski (Pauline Hanson: Please Explain!) and journalist Matt Davis (Foreign Correspondent) to explore the connection between social media and the political documentary and discuss how important the viral video can be to short AND long form video journalism.